Trunk-catch



W? W v f J J? WAY'LAND.

(Muriel) TRUNK CATCH.

No. 288284. PatenteQNpv. 13, 1883.

' 7 ing position or not,

7 the upper casing,

. ward through view of thcdocking bolt.

UNirirn Sra'rns PATENT FFlQEQ JAMES 'tVAYLAND, OF NEVVABK, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM B. GOULD, OF- MONTROSE, NEW JERSEY.

f TRUNK-CATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 288,281, dated November 13, 188?.

Application filed Mny19,1883. (Modem To all whom it may concern..-

Be it known that 1, JAMES NAYLAND, of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Iniproved Trunk-Catch, of which the following is a specification.

Figure l is a trunk-catch, showing it open. Fig. 2 is a face view of the same, showing it closed. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal central section of the same. Fig. is a back view of the same, showing it closed. Fig. 5 is aback view of the same, showing it open; Fig. 6, a detail perspective Fig. .7 is a horizontal section of the same on the line 0 c, Fig. 3.

The object of this invention is to produce a trunk-catch which will always engage the trunk-lid, whether the catch is set in the lockwhenever said trunk-lid is closed down upon the body of the trunk.

The invention consists, principally, in com-' bining with the one half of the casing a swiveled bolt having a hook at its projecting part,

which hook projects from the part of the easing in which said bolt is swiveled, and in further combining with the other part of the easing an internally-slotted spring, with which the boltengages when the lid of the trunk is closed down. I

The invention also consists in forming one edge of this hook-shaped projection of the bolt slightly spiral, so that said bolt will be turned into the locking position, by contact with the spring aforesaid, autoniatically,whenever the lid is closed down upon the body of the trunk.

In the accompanying drawings, the letter A represents part of the trunk-body, and B part of the lid. To the trunk-body is secured,by suitable screws or pins, the lower casing, 0,, and to the lid B is fastened, in like manner,

forming hollows on the outer face of the trunk and lid, respectively, for the reception of the bolt E andspring F, that are shown in Fig. 3.

The bolt E is of substantially cylindrical form where it is received within the casing G, and is provided with a handle, a, that projects outa slot, b, in the casing G, to perface view of my improved D, each of these casings Init the turning of said bolt. This handle allows the bolt to make about one-quarter of a revolution'that is to say, it can be turned from the position in which it is shown in Fig. 1 into the position'in which-it is shown in Fig. 3, anli .no fartherthe handle a in the position shown in Fig. 1 projecting oil the trunk at substantially right angles from the face thereof, while in. the position shown in Fig. 3

said handle rests substantially flush against the face of the trunk, and is substantially par allel therewith.

The bolt E projects upward above the oils ing 0, and is formed into a hook, cl, at its projecting part, which book is clearly shown in Figs. 3, 5, and 6. NVhen the lid is closed, this hook-shaped part of the bolt E enters into the casing D, as shown. The handle a,n1ovingin the slot b of the casing O, prevents longitudinal displacement of the bolt E.

In the casing D is seen red a spring-plate, F, whichhasan aperture orrslot, e, in such a position that when the lid B is closed down upon the body of the trnnli, asshown in Fig. 3, the hook d of the bolt will engage said spring and pass through the aperture 0, as shown, the spring being yielding, so that its lower end will ride over the inclined upper edge, f, of the bolt in the act of closing the lid down, until finally the hook (1 will snap into the aperture of the spring, provided the bolt, in the act of so closing the lid, is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with its handle substantially parallel with the face of the trunk.

That edge 5 of the inclined part f at the upper end of the bolt E, which will be in the path of the spring F whenever the handle (1. projects at right angles from the lace of the trunk, as in Figs. 1 and 5, is made of slightly spiral form, or screw-like, or beveled, as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6, and also in Fig. 7, so that whenever the bolt is in the position shown in Fig. 1, if the lid be closed down upon the trunk-body, the lower edge of the spring F, coming in contact with this spirally-formed edge 1 on the inclined face of the bolt, will turn said bolt from the position shown in Fig. 1 into that shown in Fig. 2, and will then engage it and cause the catch to hold the lid down. Thus it appears that, no matter whether the bolt is in the position shown in Fig. 1 or in that shown in Fig. 3, before the lid is closed,

it will invariably engage the spring F and" hold the lid shut as soon as the latter is brought down upon the trunk-body. When the trunk is to be opened, it is only necessary to take hold of the handle a and bring it into the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby disengaging the hook d from the spring F and liberating the lid, so that it may be opened. again, the bolt will be automatically turned to hold the lid closed, c

I believe that this catch is of great advantage for use on trunks and other articles, for

the reason that it is of simple construction, not liable to get out of order, and also because i it is'adapted, owing to the provision for automatically turning the bolt E, to always engage the lid and hold it shut, even if no special at r tention is paid to it. For some uses, however,

I the spiral edge 9 may be omitted.

It is quite evident that instead of attaching the casing O, with its bolt E, to the body of the trunk, the same may be attached to the lid of the trunk, in which case the casing D, with its spring F, will be attached to the body of the trunk. It is also clear that in lieu of the spring f a pivoted balanced hasp may be placed into thev casing D, provided it is so balanced that normally it will fall into the position shown in Fig. 3, but allow the bolt to When the lid is shut swing it nearer to the trunk when in the act of closing the lid down.

' I do not claim. anything shown in Patent No.

251,351, which shows a catch held by a spring in one case, and adapted to lock over a fixed stop in the other case. is that the catch, in addition to the turning motion, must also'have a vibrating motion in the direction of its length, and, as a consequence, will not hold the trunk-lid against side motion.

I claim 1. The combination of the casing G,Vcontaining the swiveled bolt E, which has the hook cl projecting outside of said casing, with The objection to this the casing D, containing the perforated or J AS. WVAYLAND,

Witnesses:

HARRY M, TURK, JAMES TURK. 

